Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have agreed to collaborate in order to strengthen Intellectual Property (IP) knowledge among the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate the growth of the creative economy in Nigeria.
The Commission and SMEDAN consented to the partnership during the courtesy visit of the Director-General, NCC, Dr. John O. Asein, to the SMEDAN headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit, the DG, NCC, stated that the place of copyright and IP in Nigeria’s creative industry which makes up the creative economy, as next to oil resources cannot be underscored.
The creative industry which is in the hands of small and medium enterprises is the engine that drives the economy today and needs to be leveraged on using the instruments of IP, he noted.
Dr. Asein, speaking on the details of the partnership proposed the deployment of IP knowledge in form of training to staff of SMEDAN in order to bridge the knowledge gap in IP among the workforce and add value to their work; Key into the We Win programme of the NNCC, an initiative targeted at strengthening more women in IP to empower other women in line with the WIPO theme for the 2023 World IP Day and training more women in innovation and creativity to ensure sustainability and application of IP knowledge.
He added that the NCC is working closely with World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) with discussions to engage with sub-sectors of the creative industry. ‘We are looking at the fashion and craft industries and how we can infuse IP knowledge and basic tools to help these industries better their products’ he disclosed.
“The choice of the partnership with SMEDAN is a good development as it will help to cascade the knowledge gained to the SMEs”, Dr. Asein added.
Responding, the Director-General, SMEDAN, Asiwaju Olawale Fasanya, said the partnership is a welcome development as it will assist SMEs to grow their businesses. He noted that most of the SMEs are not averse to IP knowledge but lacks the right information to brand their businesses, control their innovations and protect their creativity.
He assured the DG, NCC of keying into the proposed IP training programme to get their staff equipped and promised to take it further in form of train the trainer programme in order to dispense the IP knowledge to SMEDAN State Managers who will assist the SMEs in the areas of IP to grow their business.
Commenting further on the partnership, Mr. Fasanya said it is a great opportunity as it will help SMEDAN to integrate IP Module into the training programme for SMEs. While looking forward to more engagements, he stated that the collaboration will be worked out with a specific action plan with the setting up of a team to work out the processes.
He equally made the call for a joint forum with representatives of business organisations who will participate to transmit IP information to their members so as to add value to the SMEs.
